The exploit that allowed users to purchase digital goods inside iOS apps without actually paying has jumped platforms and now works on Apple's Mac platform.

The Next Web notes that programmer Alexei Borodin, who created the iOS in-app purchase exploit, now has a similar solution for apps purchased in Apple's Mac App Store. Like the exploit for iOS, this too requires that users install special security certificates on their machines, though it also requires the installation of an extra helper program.

The hacked in-app purchase dialog (click to enlarge).

Earlier today Apple said it had a fix coming in the next version of iOS, due out in the next few months, that patches the exploit. In the meantime it offered ... [Read more]

Smartphones and tablets are spoiling us for our other devices. It's so easy to swipe, tap, and gesture our way through our mobile lives that we sometimes get frustrated with more traditional tech like laptops. Flutter aims to help solve one small problem in a fun way -- playing and pausing music quickly -- and it works great. Here's how to use it: 

1. Install Flutter here for Windows 7 and here for Mac. 
2. Run iTunes, Spotify, Winamp, or Windows Media Player. Your Webcam control panel should also start up, but you can ignore it. 
3. Start up your music or video. 
4. To pause, just hold either hand up in front of your Webcam, between 1 and 6 feet away. You may need to play around with your angle a bit, but you should quickly find your media paused. 
5. To start up again, just hold your hand back up in front of your Webcam. 

That's it, for now. It's almost ludicrously simple, but it's a great way to control your music quickly. This teaser page implies that the brains behind Flutter are adding a skip feature to the app, and I am certainly looking forward to that, and whatever else they cook up. Here are some more pieces on media players: 

• ... [Read more]

Firefox, back with a new native interface, now runs again on Android tablets with the beta of version 15.

This morning, I installed the Firefox 15 beta on my two favored Android devices: a Samsung Galaxy Nexus phone and an Asus Nexus 7 tablet.

Big deal, you say. Installing a browser. Ho-hum.

It shouldn't be a big deal, but it is -- because you can't install Firefox on an iPhone, an iPad, or a forthcoming Windows RT tablet.

But on Android, Google has chosen to let any other browser compete directly against its own. For that reason, I regularly use Opera Mini and Opera Mobile alongside Google's Chrome. The Dolphin Browser HD, installed more than 10 million times, is another widely used option.

Kudos to Google for not being afraid of competition.

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